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OSSES TO WHEAT 



What to Look For 

and 

Where to Find It 



Being one of a series of articles in relation to crops, their common 
diseases, and insect pests to which they are subject 




Published by 



HAIL DEPARTMENT 

Western Adjustment & Inspection Go. 
CHICAGO 



LOSSES TO WHEAT 



LOSSES TO WHEAT 



AVhat to I^ook For 

and 

Where to Find It 



Beiii^' one of a series of articles in relation to crops, their common 
diseases, and insect pests to which they are subject 




PublislK-d by 
HAIL DEPARTMENT 

Western Adjustment & Inspection Co. 
CHICAGO 



w 

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Copyright, 1919. W. E. Mariner 



)CLA511872 



StiombeiK. Allen & Co., Chicago. 

Printers 



WHEAT 

This indisiiensahle world-supporting cereal — its 
nature and spei-ial characteristics. 



"Now a wise man is one who understands himself 
well enoutih to make due allowance for unseen moods 
and varieties, never concluding that a thing is thus, 
or tims, because just now it bears that look." 

— Bushnell. 



INTRODUCTORY 

Wheat is oue of the oldest food-producing crops with 
which we are familiar. For hundreds of years its culture 
and production have heen known to and depended upon 
by mankind. 

The nourishing food derived from this cereal is prac- 
tically indispensable and has been the statf of life for 
generations. It tided the "cave-man" over when his trusty 
war club or his si)ecially selected "rock missiles" failed 
to bring down a su])ply of meat and today it is still the 
most essential article of diet on the world's menu. 

The origin of wheat is shrouded in the haze of antiquity, 
but most likely wheat is a development of certain wild 
grasses, the descendants of which are yet found in the old 
countries, for example, wild barley, wild emmer, and certain 
so-called wild wheats. 

The earliest written documents refer to wheat, and 
many biblical references allude to yields of wheat beyond 
that hoped for by the average grower of today. In the time 
of Abraham and Isaac we find it recorded that Isaac sowed; 
and reai:>ed an hundred fold, and, as it has been quite 
definitely established that the measure of grain sown then 
and that sown at the i)resent time are identical, Isaac har- 
vested the very satisfactory yield of 100 to 150 bushels per 
acre. The parable of the Sower refers to yields of thirty, 
sixty, and even an hundred fold, and Pliny and Varro refer 
to yields at Byzantium as one hundred and one hundred and 
fifty fold, or 150 to '200 bushels i)er acre. This almost in- 
credible yield, nevertheless, is verified by various other 
testimonies. 

It would therefore seem that even with our knowledge 
of seed selection and soil bacteria and fungi, of which the 
ancients knew little, we are yet behind them in soil selection, 
testing and treating, crop rotation, seed-bed preparation, 
drainage, and general soil improvement. 

. Possibly this is because the American farmer, having 
been compelled to put forth so much effort in a fight against 
harmful insects and parasitic fungi, has not found time 
for the careful study given these topics by the ancients. 




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None of the changes modern civilization has wrought upon 
the earth is more evident than the increased difficulty of 
saving crops from the ravages of noxious insects and 
parasitic fungi. Every crop has foes that often gather the 
greater portion of the harvest. ''These enemies have come 
from the north and from the south, from the east and from 
the west, from Euroi)e even and the islands of the sea, and 
in our own midst they have flocked from the forest to the 
field, deserting a wild })lant for its cultivated congener or 
changing their hahits to conform to a new environment." 

The increase of pests is, in reality, hut the natural 
result of changed conditions. Among the principal factors 
in support of such an assertion may be mentioned (1) the 
massing of crops in limited areas; (2) the facilities for 
transporting insects long distances by vessels and railways 
carrying agricultural crops; (3) the uncut weeds and 
grasses adjacent to crop fields, that serve as breeding- 
grounds, (4) the destruction of forests and the cultivation 
of prairies. 

Authorities best able to judge estimate the annual loss 
in the United States due to these little pests at over half a 
billion dollars. In single states the damage is often fright- 
ful in extent. 

Fortunately, however, there is a silver lining to this 
dark cloud of insect injury. If these creatures have 
increased on every hand, knowledge of methods of con- 
trolling them has also increased with passing years. 



n 



PART ONE— ENEMY INSECTS 



The Hessian Fly 

This is one of the oldest and best-known insect nests 
of American ai>Ticulture. It has ranked as a destructive 
species for more than a centnry and has been identified 
everywhere tliat wlieat is grown. 

Tlie adult is a small, two-winged, mosqnito-like fly. The 




DAMAdE BY THE HESSIAN FLY 

Straws in this condition do not require a hailstorm to break them down; a 
light wind is all that is necessary. 

females of the species deposit their eggs on the upper sur- 
faces of the wlieat blades early in autumn. In a few days 
the larva hatches and descends the leaf to the base of the 
sheath, where it attaches itself, head downward, to the stalk, 
and proceeds to absorb the life sap of the plants. As the 
plant grows the larva becomes imbedded in the stalk, where 
it remains stationary. When full-grown (which occurs in 
three or four weeks from the time of hatching) the larva 
is a soft, white, footless maggot. 

Its outer skin then becomes hard and brown, and 
se])arates from the rest of the body, although it still sur- 
rounds the latter, forming a sort of cocoon, oi", as it is 
more correctly called, i)ui)ariuni, within which the insect 

12 




WHEAT AND THE HESSIAN FLY 

Explanation of plate. 

1. Healthy wheat plant. 2. Plant infested with larvae of Hessian fly. 3. Eggs 
of fly, greatly enlarged. 4. Eggs of fly on section of wheat blade. 5. Lar- 
vae of Hessian fly, enlarged. 6. Puparium or "flaxseed" of Hessian 
fly, enlarged. 7. Culm of straw removed to show "flaxseed"' at 
the joint, about natural size. 8. Female Hessian fly, enlarged. 
9. Male Hessian fly, enlarged. 



13 



<'liaiii>es to a pniia. This is tlie flaxseed stage. 'I'lic winter 
is usually ])assed in this condition, and in si)ring the flies 
emerge from the flaxseeds to lay eggs for another hrood. 




14 



The larvae of tlie yoiini>- l)rood attack the young' wlieat plants 
just above the roots, between the stalk and sheath ini^' base 
of the leaf. The spring generation, however, is formed a lit- 
tle higher up, and is n snail y fonnd near the lowest ])oint of 
the wheat, bnt may be variously located from below tlie 
ground line up to the third joint. The second generation 
comi)letes its transformations before harvest, and there is 
often, at least as far north as latitude 40°, a third brood, 
which develops during summer in volunteer wheat. The 
chief damage, however, is done by the fall and spring- 
broods. 

Chinch Bug 

There are two principal species of chinch bugs, one 
which breeds chiefly in wheat, and the other almost wholly 
in corn. 

Passing the winter usually in clumps of bunch grass 
and similar clump-forming grasses, the chinch bugs begin 
to ai)itear with the coming of warm weather, and continue 
to come out with uncertain rapidity, depending upon the 
weather, until all are in action. Cold days put a temporary 
halt to this migration, but it is resumed as soon as the 
temperature moderates. During the period of spring migra- 
tion the bugs may travel considerable distances — just how 
far there are no conclusive data to show. Observation indi- 
cates that they make their way to the nearest wheat or 
barley field and that they do not travel farther than is 
necessary to secure a sufticient supply of food. Here, 
thrusting their beaks into the tissues of tender plants, they 
break their long winter fast. 

About three weeks after the first spring migration is 
noticed the eggs begin to appear. They are deposited in 
cracks and crevices of the ground, mainly on or near the 
stems and roots of the x^l^^ts, but sometimes widely 
removed from all plants. They are also often thrust in 
directly between the leaf sheaths and stems of the plants. 
In fact, the location of the eggs appears to vary with any 
factor that affects the distribution of the bugs. Where tlie 
bugs find food plentiful and conditions to their liking, they 
congregate, and there the eggs are laid. The egg is a tiny, 
oval, reddish object about .03 inch long and one-fifth as wide. 

15 




y. X 



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16 



One end is blunt and bears four small, rounded lumps near 
the center. ^ 

The dingy or gTayish-blaek chinch bug is easily recoo- 
nized by the fact that the white ])arts of its wings are >sc) 




THE CHINCH BUG. 

1, Larva; 2, ,3, 4, 5, and 6, various sizes, enlarged. 
A and B. Showing hues on stalks. 



arraii.ii'ed tliat wlien tlie wind's are folded it appears to be 
branded witli a white X-sliai)ed mark. 

With tlie ripening- of wheat, the ehincli ))ni>s, only a few 
of which have readied tbe adult stage, mnst seek food else- 
where or starve. If the grain tields are weedy and grassy, 
they ()l)tain food from the grasses, but when compelled by 
hunger to leave, they transfer their activities to the nearest 
corn, cane, or millet tield. The time of migration generally 
depends on the food snpi)ly, but begins when the wheat 
ripens or is cut. The bugs avoid traveling during the heat of 
the day, confining their movements to a few hours during 
the evening. 

Where spring and winter wheat are grown in the same 
region, these bugs will more often destroy the former, 
probably because spring-grown grain is exposed for a 
longer time to pest attack before it is harvested. 

The Small Stalk Borer 

This well-known caterpillar, often called the heart- 
worm because of the character of the injury it does, may be 
at once identified by the peculiar break in the striping of the 
body at the middle. The cateri)illar is about an inch long 




THE SMALL STALK BORER. 

when full grown. Its general color varies from i)uri)lish to 
whitish lu'own, according to age, and it is marked with five 
white strii)es, one running down the middle of the back and 
two (m each side. These side stripes are interruj)ted, being 
absent on the first segments of the abdomen, giving the 
h\rva the appearance of having been ])inched or injured 
tliere. The stripes nearly vanish as the larva matures. 
'I'he head and top of the neck and the leathery anal shield 
a1 the oi)posite end of the body are light reddish yellow 
witli a black stripe on each side. 

18 



The presence of tlie stalk borer in a young stalk of grain 
is very clearly indicated by the wilting, breaking down, and 
death of the top and b}^ the presence of a round hole in the 
side of the stalk. It infests a great variety of plants. The 
damage it does is most noticeable in early spring in blue 
grass by roadsides or around the borders of a field, its 
presence being indicated by the whitening of single heads 
of the grass while all the rest of the plant is green. At this 
time it is of small size and finds sufficient food within the 
grass stem. The furrow which it makes within the stem runs 
upward from the entrance opening and of course varies in 
size with the growth of the larva. Sometimes in leaving a 
stalk, the larva makes a new hole above that by which it 
entered, and in this way may injure in succession several 
dififerent stalks and various kinds of plants. It is ])ractically 
indifferent as to the kind of jilants it feeds u])on, the only 
necessary condition being a relatively thick stem, soft 
enough to allow it to enter and feed freely within. In the 
small grains and larger grasses, like oats, barley, and rye, 
it makes its presence manifest by killing or even cutting off 
the stem within, thus causing the head and the whole ])lant 
above the injury to turn white and eventually to dry u]). 
The stalk borer is only one of several insects which produce 
this general effect, but the injur}^ it does may be at once 
distinguished by the round hole which it leaves in the stem 
of the infested plant. 

The stalk borer is found throughout the United States 
and Canada, east of the Rocky Mountains. 

The caterpillar when full grown i)upates, as a rule, 
within its last furrow, comm.only below the opening at 
which it entered, seemingly as a precaution against destruc- 
tion by the withering and breaking away of the upper i)art 
of the injured plant. The pupa is light mahogany brown 
and about three-fourths of an inch in length. From the 
pupa emerges the fawn-gray or mouse-colored moth. 

There is but one brood a year, and by the end of June 
the caterpillars are over half grown. They have then 
nearly all left the grasses in which they made their start 
and entered the thicker-stemmed plants. They live in this 
stage until late in July, when reproduction begins. 

19 



The Wheat-Bulb Worm or Wheat-Stem Maggot 

'I'liis insect lias attracted attention only during eoni- 
|)arati\'ely recent years. Most wheat growers have never 
heard of it, and are therefore inclined to ])lace the l)lanie 
for its depredations on some other insect, or to assert tliat 
tlie damage sustained was caused by hail, 

The adult is a liandsome two-winged tly having two 
longitudinal yellowish stri})es along its back. The females 
dei)osit eggs in the fall on the young wheat ])lants. usually 




THE WHEAT BULB WORM CHEATLY ENLAKCIED 

one on a plant, and the eggs remain there through the 
winter, tlie young a})i)earing in si)ring. Tliey are then foot- 
less larvae, or worms which a fortnigiit later emerge as 
flies. After mating, the female flies of this second brood 
deposit eggs for larvae, wliich work into the straw just 
above the top joint, thus cutting off the sap sui)]>ly from tlie 
heads, causing white heads or baki heads. 

^riiese heads often break over above the bull) exactly 
as if struck by a hailstone. 

If the insects have left the ])lant and the grower still 
))elieves the damage is that caused by hail, the mass of 
finely chewed pulp left behind in the straw by the ])ests 
should be sufficiently convincing evidence to the contrary. 

20 



The work of these insects is somewliat different from 
that of the Hessian fly and the straw worm. In the ease of 
the Hessian fly, the maggot is nsually found between the 
third joint and the gronnd line, while the straw worm is 




WHEAT-BULB WORM 

Wheat straw showinfr the bulb worm. 

fonnd in the pithy tissues within the stem, and below the 
top joint. The wheat-stem maggot is always fonnd jnst 
above the head joint on or in the stem. 

The larvae ('om])lete their metamorphosis during July, 
when they are on the wing as flies. Early in July eggs are 

21 



de]>osile(l l)y lliis tliird l)r()o(l of flies on volunteer wlieat, 
and the transformation of tliese is coni})leted in time for 
the adults to lay their eggs in fall wheat. There are there- 
fore three broods each season. This insect l)reeds in oats 
and various grasses as well as in wheat. 



The Wheat-Straw Worm or Joint Worm 

There are two generations of this insect annually, both 
of which are destructive. To the observer the adults look 
like shining black ants, some with, others without, wings; 
their legs are banded with yellow and they have red eyes. 
They are about i of an inch long, most of them being females 
and wingless. These females of the first generation de])osit 
their eggs in young wheat i)lants when the stems of the 
plants extend but little above the surface of the ground. 

The egg is placed in or just below the wlieat head, and 
the larva, or worm, works within the stem, usually causing 
a slight enlargement. When the worm is fully grown it 
Vill be found in the crown of the plant, having eaten out 
and totally destroyed the embryonic head, its body occu]W- 
ing the cavity thus formed. The larva, or worm, is of a 
very light straw color, almost white, with brown jaws. In 
May, June, or July (de])ending on location) the larvae 



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LARVA OF WHEAT-STRAW WORM, OREATLEY EXLARC;ED 

becoiiic I'lill gi-()\vii and ])ass at once through a short ])npal 
stage. The i)ui)ae are at first the same coh)r as the hii'vae, 
latei' changing to a jet l)lack. 

ill a few days the fully developed insect gnaws a cir- 
cular hole through the stems and makes its way out, and 
tliis second adult deposits its eggs, usually in the second 

22 



joint below the liead. The larvae from these eggs are the 
ones found in the plant and can be located in the straw 
always below the upper joint, generally above or below the 
second joint. 

Both the work of the spring brood in fall wheat and 
that of the summer brood in spring and winter wheats are 




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'W"^i\\'M\ 




WHEAT STRAWS INJURED BY STRAW WORM 

so carried on that the planter does not know of his loss un- 
less it amounts to a very large percentage of the cro]), and 
then he may attribute it to some other cause. 

The wheat-straw worm is capable of doing great injury 
to wheat crops in the West and Northwest. Its work is of 
such a nature that it passes unobserved unless an attack 
of unusual severity causes the farmer to scrutinize his tields 



23 



more closely than usual. Generally tlie injury is not noticed 
until about harvest time, when the stalks often begin to 
break over and many white heads ai)])ear in the field. This 
condition very closely resembles that of Hessian fly loss and 
is often confused therewith. 

The wheat-straw worm is closely related to the wheat 
joint worm, and as their appearance, history, and life cycle 
and depredations are so nearly identical, they are usually 
considered as synonymous. 

The Wheat Midge 

This insect is often confused with the Hessian fly, to 
which it is closely related, but its operations are confined 
entirely to the wheat heads. 

The adult is a yellow or orange-colored fly and lays 
its eggs in the wheat heads almost as soon as their protect- 
ing sheath unfolds. These eggs quickly hatch into footless 
maggots, which destroy the kernels as they are filling 

Becoming full grown within three weeks, they leave the 
wheat heads, entering the ground, where they pupate. Late- 
ripening wheats are most susceptible to injury from this 
source. 

The wheat midge also breeds in barley, oats, and rye, 
but there is but one brood a year. 

The Army Worm and Wheat-Head Army Worm 

The army worm is hatched from eggs laid by a hand- 
some brown moth which is about 1^ inches across the out- 
stretched wings, and, when full grown, is a smooth, greenish 
or brownish striped cater])illar, something over an inch 
long. In this form it feeds on small grains and even 
grasses. 

Ordinarily the army worms are unnoticed, as they re- 
main concealed about the base of grain, where they feed 
undisturbed. They have many enemies with which to con- 
tend; otherwise they would, doubtless, be more destructive 
1lian at i>resent. They are the prey of birds and parasites 
and are frecpiently the victims of a bacterial disease which 
sometimes ahuost swee])s them out of existence. In a sea- 
son, however, when their natural enemies do not seriously 
attack them, they appear in countless armies, and the 

24 




THE ARMY WORM, WITH PUPAE, MOTH, AND EGG 



25 



destruction l)e,<>ins, all grains and grasses in their path 
being wholly devoured by them. 

The name is derived from the caterpillars' habit of 
tra\'eling in countless numbers, like an army on the march. 
'I'hey seldom go around an object, but crawl straight over, 
climbing houses, farm implements, standing automobiles, 
or any other obstruction. They were very numerous in 
western Kansas and Nebraska in 1918. 

The wheat-head army worm is of the same general 
a]^pearance as the well-known army worm, but the injury 



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LIFE CYCLE OF WHEAT-HEAD ARMY WORM 

caused is different. The larvae gnaw into the heads of 
wheat, rye, and other small grains, timothy, and even some 
of the wild grasses, and are frequently found working in 
the head or resting on the stem just below it. They begin 
to feed at the bottom of the head and work ujoward, some- 
timey eating only one side, or even less than that, some- 
times taking all but the stenu Badly injured tields a|)])ear 
dry and brown, and the denuded wheat heads are conspicu- 
ous, even at some little distance. 



Flea Beetles 

or the several siiecies of Ihe beetle family, but one has 
been found that seriously injures small grain. This is 

26 



known as the flea beetle. It is about one-tenth of an mch 
long', oval, and plain brown. It feeds principally on grass 
and grain, but has done some serious injury to corn and has 
also damaged sugar-beets. Wheat and oats are its princi- 
])al foods. 

The species is generally distributed over the United 
States east of the Rocky Mountains, and is also reported 
from Montana, Utah, and California. The beetles do not 
eat holes in the leaves of the grain; they simply gnaw out 
the tissues from beneath, leaving the veins and upper sur- 




THE FLEA BEETLE. 

((ireaily enlarged ) 

Sometimes called the corn flea beetle. The injury it does in the Middle West 

is confined largely to the small grains, although it often bears the 

name of "corn flea beetle." 

face untouched. The greatest damage they do is the severe 
injury to barley, the leaves of which they eat out in narrow 
channels. The larva breeds ui)on the roots of the plant. 
The worst injuries are done on low lands and near the win- 
ter shelters of the beetles. The beetles winter over and are 
abundant in May, when they pair. They generally lay their 
eggs by the first of July, but a new brood comes out in the 
latter part of the month, becoming abundant in August and 
continuing until the close of the season. The injury done to 

27 



small liTain is ]»rhi('i|)ally in early summer, sliortly after tlie 
beetles eome out of their winter (]uarters. 

The Grain Aphis or Louse 

There are two kinds of lioe which occasionally canse 
considerable loss to grain, but their attacks have fortu- 
nately been infrequent. The names most commonly applied 
are "wheat louse," given to a brownish a]:>his, and "green 
bug," name being derived from the color. 

The Wheat Louse 

This is a small brownish insect, with or without wings, 
wliich, when ])resent, can be found in countless numl)ers on 




THE WHEAT LOUSE 

((ireatlj enlaitred) 

These are either brown or green 

wheat, oats, and other plants. It is a sucking insect, having 
a ])ointed beak which is inserted into the ])lant, and it lives 
u])on the sa]) of the stalk, leaves, or embryonic head. As 
the gi-ain rij)ens, the h)use deserts it for greener, more 
succukMit vegetation. 

It l)rings foi'th living young and is most prolitic. It 
is estimated that one h)use may become the i)rogenitor of 
millions between si)i'ing and autunm. Were it not for the 
count h\ss natui-al enemies that devour them, they would 
constitute a most a harming menace. No other means of in-e- 
veuting them from o\-ei-ruuuing the fields every year has 
been discovered. 

28 



The Green Bug 

In some localities wheat has frequently been damaged 
to such an extent as to make growing it unprofitable. 

When wheat is green and beginning to cover the 
ground, the infestation by green bugs generally l)e('omes 
conspicuous in "spots," i. e., small areas from '2 or o feet to 
50 or 100 feet in diameter where the plants will begin to 
turn yellow. Death of the plants generally begins at the 
center of these circles and extends outward. Sometimes 
tlie "spots" become confluent, and meet each other. Such 
conditions as the coming together of these spots indicate 
tliat the i)lanted cro]) will not be successful, and some other 
planting sliould be substituted. After the seed bed is pre- 
])ared, any other crop except barley, rye, or oats may be 
safe. 

The green bugs in an infested field are most numerous 
around the border of the "spots." They leave tlie dying 
l)lants and move out to the edge of the green wheat. 

One week is the average time required for the green 
l)ug to become full grown. iVt this age it begins to bring- 
forth its young alive. The average tenure of life, in sum- 
mer, is thirty-six days. 

Some Ways of Identifying the Green Bug 

Examine wheat for small green lice. If they are found 
congregated in large numbers, ten to fifteen on a single 
leaf of wheat, it is almost safe to conclude tluit the de])re- 
dator is the green bug. 

Look for the winged forms of the lice. Four wings 
will be ])resent, and when not in action will have the ujjper 
edges together, while the lower edges will be each side of the 
body in the shape of an ordinary gable roof. Remove and 
examine one of the front wings closely, ()bser^'e a large 
vein extending from the base of the wing to near the tip end. 
From tliis vein four narrow veins arise. One of them is 
definitely Y-shai)ed in the green bug. The two branches of 
the '<Y" extend to the outer margin of the wing. With 
nearly all other plant lice found on small grains, there are 
three branches to the "Y" instead of two. 

29 



Cut-Worms 

Cut-worms attack wheat, oats, barley, and rye, as well 
as corn, and the appearance of injury is much the same in 
all these grains. Stalks sometimes are eaten only so far 
through that they do not fall, but only lean over. The heads 




GRANULATED CUTWORM 

Showing: a, larva; f, pupa; h, adult moth; and b, c, d, e, g, details of structure. 

on these stalks do not fill, and the stalk comes loose at the 
ground line when it is touched. 

Full-grown cut-worms are about 1^ inches long and 
dull in color. They do their work at night. If the injury 
done by them is recent, they may be found near the roots of 
the plant, asleep; otherwise they have moved on to other 
fields. 



30 



PART TWO— DISEASES 



Disease Enemies 

In addition to the more commonly known disease ene- 
mies of wheat, such as rusts, smuts, blights, etc., there have 
been discovered in the soil various fungi which attack wheat 
and cause a serious loss. As these discoveries have been 
more recent, they are likely to be less well known, and con- 
siderable space (proportionately) is therefore given to, and 
a careful study is respectfully directed to "wheat sickness" 
and its various subdivisions. 

Wheat Sickness 

Constant culture of wheat on the same lands brings 
about wheat sickness — wheat-sick soil. This condition, 
with wheat-sick seed, is a principal cause of deterioration in 
grain. 

The fungi attack the roots of the wheat, leaves, stems, 
and young developing grain, producing many visible evi- 
dences of a crop damage. These parasites are carried in 
various ways from fields afar, and frequently are transmit- 
ted from crop to crop by means of the seed, crop rubbish, 
etc. They may attack a croji directly by way of the soil, or 
through wind-blown or water-carried spores. They are be- 
lieved to be the chief cause of failure of wheat to stool 
pro])erly, causing the plants to live almost wholly upon the 
surface of the soil, even though the land is deeply and well 
worked. The following features are directly noticeable: 
wilting and blighting of embryos and plantlets in the first 
leaf; tip-burn and sun-scald of young plants at stooling 
time; blighting of side-stool at shot-leaf period; blackfoot 
or creosote-colored stems below ground line; incomplete 
filling of upper head parts; shriveled grains; black-pointed 
grains; jiurplish or pink grains; white-bellied grains; pie- 
bald grains ; bleached and blistered grains. 

Lack of filling is due not to bad climatic conditions or 
lack of fertility in the soil, but to fungi which blight the 
roots and prevent seeds from being properly filled at head- 

31 




32 



ing time. The parasites penetrate into all parts of tlie 
straw and into seeds of such heads before the seeds are 
matured. 

Even virgin or new lands remaining in the wheat belt 
unplowed, though they represent select areas when plowed 
and sowed to wheat, cannot now, as in the earlier days, be 




CONTRASTS 

Three blighted autl three properly filled heads of fife wheat. Manj- such 

typically blighted heads are found on wheat-sick soils regardless 

of tillage or soil fertility. 

relied ujion to ])roduce the (juality of wheat formerly pro- 
duced on innnediately adjacent lands. Those lands are cer- 
tainly as fertile as the adjacent areas broken in the early 
days of wlieat culture, hence there is l)ut one reason for the 
decreased productiveness. The present new lands are sub- 
ject to wheat diseases caused by fungi which are carried in 
])oor seed, dust, and dirt from old fields adjacent, by soil 
washed from higher land to the lower, by the hoofs of ani- 
mals, and by various farm implements to wliich they have 
adhered. 

3:J 



On areas where wheat has lieen ^rown continuously 
tliere is a tendency for the crop at first to produce a heavy 
outlnirsi of foliage and to sliow great unevenness of 
growth tlircnigliout the field, even though no unevenness of 
ground or |)eculiarities of chemical constituents, of drain- 




INFECTED WHEAT STALK 

Typical wheat stalk showing wheat-sick infection. 

age, or of nietliods of culture may be observed. Some sections 
may yield fifteen to twenty-five bushels per acre, while fields 
immediately adjoining, of the same day's seeding, may 
scarcely be fit to harvest. Straw often varies in height on 

34 



such areas from a few inches to a foot or more, and shows 
great variation in color and texture throughout the season. 

The stems apparently have no life and often crumple 
uii in patches, sometimes several acres in extent, with ap- 
parently hardy grain growing immediately adjacent. 
Farmers sometimes attribute this to hail damage, but are 
not able to explain why their loss is so "spotted." Where 
the trouble extends to the entire tield an expert's task is 
more difficult, but wheat-sick grain falls in all directions, 
and often breaks down into the roots, while hailed grain is 
uniformly broken over in one direction. The ashy color of 
the straw, the tendency to root above the ground, the lack 
of stooling, and the fungus-infected root system prove the 
true cause of the damage. 

Where the grain does not actually break over in such 
fields it is generally uneven as to grade and likely to be 
shrivelled and of light weight and off in color, even though 
the greatest care is taken in harvesting. 

Experiments and observations have demonstrated that 
old soils are either affected in large spots or are wheat- 
sick over entire fields. 

Formerly considered merely as molds or simple decay 
forms, the fungi — whicli infest the land to such an extent 
as to make profitable wheat farming under present condi- 
tions in many cases impossible — have finally been identified 
as the cause of wheat sickness, wheat-sick soil, crinkle-joint, 
and other injuries of like nature. 

The extent of the damage caused by them is governed 
mainly by the different soils and by climatic and cropping 
conditions, but they persist in their destruction in any soil 
adapted to wheat. 

They exist in decay forms on roots, stubble, straw, and 
in manures, and even penetrate the berry itself. They have 
therefore become world-wide in distribution. 

Owing to the varied forms in which these fungi appear 
and because of their insidious attacks on all parts of the 
wheat i)lant — from the root system to the ri])ened berry — 
numerous local names have been incorrectly applied by 
growers, and even by various authorities, to disease condi- 
tions which it is now definitely known are due to fungus 
attack. A number of these misused terms may still be en- 

35 



countered, sncli as root-rot, liead-scald, stem-blight, and 
others, all of which, on final analysis, will be found to refer 
to what niav be generally termed "wheat sickness." 



Crinkle Joint, or Break-Over Disease 

This is not an insect trouble, as many have sui)))()sed, 
but fundus infection associated with weather conditions. 



f'l 


1 




1 'i 


1^ 


: \ \ 




, i 
i 

1 


fy 


1 

^1 


'1 


1 


I 




i 


4,., 



CRINKLE-JOINT 

DoforiiHMl stalk of wheat commonly termed crinkle joint. 

AVhen wet weather follows a drouth during the early growth 
of the straw, troul)le is very i)ronounced on wheat-sick soils 

36 




CRINKLE-JOINT 

Crinkle-joint or break-over disease is not an insect trouble, as many growers 
have believed, but a fungus infection associated with weather conditions. 

37 




CRINKLE-JOINT 

Typical straws showing break-over disease and peculiarities of the roots associated 

with lack of stooling. Notice the tendency to form roots above the 

ground line— to re-root. This is due to the fact that the lower 

roots are blighted off by disease. 



38 



or in fields on which disease-bearing seed is nsed. Large 
swellings oeenr on the straw above the second joint, and 
blighted stools at the base of plants. The straw often breaks 
over, becoming Jcrooked, then starts a deformed joint, much 
like an elbow in a stovei)ipe, and climbs up toward the smi 
eventually to mature its head, which, however, is often only 
partly filled. From 30 per cent to 60 per cent of the grain 
in some fields has been affected by this disease in recent 
years. 

The break in the straw is generally at a uniform 
height, being just above the second joint from the ground, 
the elbow forming at the third joint. 

As the break usually occurs during a high wind or 
rainstorm, hail losses are frequently reported, but as the 
recujierative elbow forms almost at once it is comparatively 
easy to establish the fact that the damage is not due to hail. 



39 



Careless Farming 
Practices that Increase Wheat Sickness 

1. Careless Seed Selection, and Failure to Disinfect the 

Grain before Seeding. 

All wheat seed in these affected areas should be care- 
fully graded and disinfected. 

2. Using Too Much Seed. 

A healthy i)lant every three inches in the drill row is 
sufficient. Poor, disease-infected, shrivelled seeds, thickly 
drilled, soon spoil the best of soils for wheat. They fill the 
land with root diseases which spread most rapidly along- the 
drill row in thickly seeded grain. Strong roots and heavy 
grain are not possible in too thickly sown fields. 

t3. Laci- of Intelligent Eolation of Crops. 

dotation purifies the soil. Soil purification means soil 
disinfection. To eliminate the wheat-sick fungi, crops which 
are not related to wheat, such as corn, alfalfa, potatoes, and 
flax — in other words, crops on which the wheat fungi can- 
not exist should be planted. 

-1. Improper Use of Manures. 

Wheat land should not be fertilized with fresh manures 
containing wheat or barley straw, as the fungi live in man- 
ure for three or fonr years. Stable manures should be com- 
posted, if i)ossible, bnt even composted manure sliould not 
be ])laced on wheat-sick soils with the hope of increasing 
the wheat yield. Only carefnl rotation or other disinfec- 
tion will destroy the fungi. 

5. Careless Preparation of Seed Bed. 

A loose ashy seed bed is an ideal spreading ground for 
fungi. A firmly compacted one into which air and water 
penetrate slowly and in which seeds lie evenly is best. A 
firm soil tends to prevent a rapid spread of fungi wliich 
may be present because of internally diseased seeds. 

40 



Rusts 

Eusts are among the most common as well as among 
the most destructive of fungous diseases. They attack the 
cereals and grasses of fields, the fruit trees of orchards, 
and even the ornamental plants of the garden, causing, in 
])eriods specially conducive to their growth, enormous 
tinancial losses. Rusts are with us every year; we may not 
notice them so much during certain dry seasons, but not a 




EFFECT OF BLACK RUST ON WHEAT 

Crop totally destroyed. Except that straws are lodged in a tangled mass, it 
closely resembles a hail damage. 

year passes without the disease being present on grain and 
other plants to a greater or less extent. 

A wet spring, followed by warm, moist weather, pre- 
sents just the conditions the rust needs for its rapid growth 
and spread. The weather known as ''muggy," caused by 
showers with heat spells following and by heavy dews, 
results in a heavy, more or less succulent growth of the 
wheat plant, which thus becomes particularly susceptible to 

41 



tlio entrance and rai)id growth of the rust parasite. Every 
l)Ianter should know what smut looks like to the naked eye, 
for it is usually so eonspicuous as to attract the attention of 
even a casual observer. 

Nearly everyone whose cro})s have been devastated by 



8TEAI RUST 
Stems of wheat showing black clusters of spores of "stem rust" or "black rust." 

these diseases dreads particularly what is commonly calU'd 
"stem rust," or "black rust," since it is to tliis species that 
the greater losses are attributed. 

Proper drainage will help greatly to keep down wheat 



42 




43 



rust. As long as the surface keeps fairly dry, rust spores 
cannot adhere to and infect wheat plants. In well-drained, 
sandy soil, such as is found about Aberdeen, S. D., for in- 
stance, rust has a poorer chance than in the bottom lands 
of the Sioux ^'alley, the Red River A'alley, the Missouri 




RUST BREEDS OX THE BARBERRY BUSH 

Branches of the barberry bush, bearing chister cups of the bhick or stem rust of 

wheat. Its ehmination will lessen this enormous loss to our wheat cro]>s. 

A, B, C, and D are the rust bearing clusters. 

A'alley, or in h)W lands sucli as the gently rolling sections 
of North Dakota. 

Rust eats into the joints of the wheat, occasionally caus- 
ing entire fields to break over at the joints. This situa- 
tion is sometimes attributed to hail damage, but as hail 
never eats out the joint nor breaks a stalk at its normally 

44 



strongest point, that theory of the mismformed should be 
easily refuted. 

As the heads of rnsted wheat at first s'lanee sometimes 



EFFECTS OF RUST ON WHEAT. 
No grain whatever in these heads. 

appear to be at least i)artly tilled, that condition may be 
very misleading as respects a real loss caused by hail. 

Red or orange rust is more frequently encountered than 
is black rust, and is ordinarily much less destructive. It is 
])lainly visible on the plant, as its reddish color easily identi- 
fies it. On walking through a slightly infected field, it 
will be found that one's clothing is noticeably colored with 
this rust. 

Smuts of Wheat 

There are two common smuts of wheat. The loose 
smut is sometimes called ''blackheads," and the covered 
smut is called "bunt" or "stinking smut." 

Stinking Smut 

Stinking smut forms a hard smut-mass — the snnit-l^all 
— where each kernel ought to be. These smut-balls remain 
inside the sheath, in the same position that the kernels 
would occupy if the head were healthy. The chaff on 
smutted heads is usually lighter in color and spreads far- 
ther apart than in healthy heads. The smut has a distinct 
odor, like that of decaying fish. 

The smut-mass, then, is hard and must be broken up 
l)efore the spores can be very widely scattered. This break- 
ing is done in the handling of the grain in the field, or at 

45 



threshing time. The spores aclliere to the outside of the 
kernels and remain there all winter. When the grain ger- 
minates in the spring, the si)ores also germinate, the smut 




STINKING SMUT 
Healthy head, and diseased head with smut balls removed. 

entering the stem-tip after it comes out of the kernel. It 
lives in and grows with the developing berry until shortly 
before harvest time, when it produces smut-balls where the 
kernels should be. 

Loose Smut 

Of the two wheat stuuts, the loose smut usually a])pears 
earlier in the season. It turns the entire wheat head, in- 
eluding Ihe chaff, into a ])Owdery mass, which is soon blown 
away by the wind, k'aviiig only the bare stalk with a little 
clinging smut -dust. 

This takes ])lace at tlie time the grain is in tlower. The 

46 



smut dust lodges in the sheath and sends out a germ-thread 
which enters into the young wheat kernel and remains there 
without changing the appearance of the wheat. 

The next spring, when the grain germinates, the smut- 




LOOSE SMUT 
Heads have turned to a fine powdery mass of smut and blown away. 

threads in the kernel begin to grow also, invading the stem- 
tip even before it pushes out of the kernel, growing along 
inside this stem-growing point, and, at heading-out-time; 
again changing the head into a mass of smut-powder. 



47 



PART THREE -CONTRIBUTING CAUSES 



Knowledge of the elementary ])rin('ii)les of scieiiliHc 
farming is essential to the snceessfnl conduct of any busi- 
ness which deals with farming or husbandry. 

Grasshopper, Jack Rabbit and Gopher Loss 

There are three quite common causes for hail-loss 
claims in some sections each season, namely — grasshoppers, 
jack rabbits, and gophers, or ground squirrels. 




WHEAT DAMACiE 

1. Grasshopper dainafre. 2. (iophor or ground squirrel damage. 
rabl)it damage to wheat. 



Jack 



Each of these pests eats ilie heads of the grain from the 
stalks. Since an ordinai-y hailstorm will only l)reak it and 
leave the head hanging, the grower can be shown the fallacy 
of his hail-loss argument. The grassh()i)])er severs the 
head, lea\ing a finely serrated edge. The goi)her. or ground 

48 




49 



squirrel, elects to cliew up one side for a half an inch to an 
inch, sliverini>' the stalk before he finally nips it through. 
The jack rabbit with his shart) front teeth makes a clean 
diagonal cut usually above the head joint. 

To overcome the argument that such condition does 
not constitute a hail loss and to show anyone how hard grain 
can be hit without severing the head from the stalk, it is 
only necessary to throw a good-sized stone down a grain 
row. This usually topples over several heads, but leaves 
them hanging to the stalk and the s|)urious contention on 
that i)oint is prom|)tly cut short. 

Kinked Heads 

In certain species of wheat the beards of the heading- 
grain are often held temporarily by the slowly unfolding 
foot, which causes the heads to come out sideways, as shown 
in the accompanying illustration. This disorder is often at- 
tributed to hail damage, the farmer asserting that the hail 
has hit the boot and tightened up the sheath so that it does 
not open properly. This assertion is incorrect, as can be 
demonstrated ; for in a few days these heads straighten up 
and fill as completely as others in the field that did not 
come out in such manner. 



50 




KINKED HEAD. 



51 



"Shatter Loss" 

Beardless ,i>raiii shatters niiieli more easily than 
bearded wheat. Wind or rain will often cause a consider- 
able "shatter loss," and many s])nrious hail claims are re- 
])orted from this cause. A small hail damage to the stalk 




MACARONI WHEAT HEADS 



MARCUS WHEAT HEADS 



Bearded grain is less subject to shatter loss than are the unprotected beardless 

heads. 

and a heavy shattering of the grain from the head cannot 
consistently be charged to loss by liail. Marcus wheat is 
most subject to shatter, while macaroni is least atfected. 

Wherever ])ossible a compromise of loss suffered by 
the two grains will give a very good estimate as to the actual 
loss caused by hail. 



52 



Seed Selection and Seed-Bed Preparation 

"Nature gave the principle of ,<>eriiiination to seed, 
the rest of agriculture was left for man to discover." 

The chief reasons for low production of wheat are : 

1. The nse of poor seed. 

2. The failure to prepare the soil properly. 

3. The fiingns-laden, wheat-sick, or imi)overislied con- 

dition of the soil, dne to continued wheat planting-. 

4. Imi)roper application of fertilizers. 

Too often the planter sows home-grown seed, without 
properly screening it, on poorly prepared ground of the 
average fertility of his acreage ; or perhaps he may make a 
careful selection of seed, removing the foul weed seeds, and 
then fail to disinfect it properly, further infesting his land 
with the various fungi that cause wheat-sickness. 

In wheat-sick areas or where the seed is badly smut- 
infected, thorough disinfection and careful grading of seed 
are absolutely necessary. 

Even though seed is carefully selected, properly 
screened, and disinfected, there may still be failure due to 
one of two causes : Either the seed is drilled into a fungus- 
infested soil, there to become the food for various bacteria 
instead of food for man as intended ; or, if the land is free 
from infection, the planter may have failed to prepare his 
seed bed properly. 

The result of an improperly prepared seed bed was 
most forcefully illustrated in Custer County, Nebraska, in 
June, 1918. In a certain township visited by a light hail- 
storm some twenty-odd farmers reported damage to their 
winter wheat. 

As the adjacent losses did not exceed 10 per cent, it 
occasioned some surprise to find upon inspection of one of 
the fields that the wheat there w^as damaged at least 35 per 
cent. Its condition was plainly noticeable, even from a 
distance, the plants having the same general appearance as 
though they had suffered from a severe hailstorm. A closer 
inspection, however, told a different story. 

This farmer had carefully cleaned his seed, for which he 
had originally paid a fancy price and which doubtless was 
worth the price paid. So far he had proceeded carefully, 
but he had plowed the field to a depth of eight inches, and 

53 




A BASIS ON WHICH CLAIMS ARE FREQUENTLY MADE 

Wheat on poorlj^ pr(>j)ared soil does not "stool" properly. This grain just 

beginning to head is so thin and weak that it does not even shade 

the ground. The stalks are too weak to hold up the 

heads and fall over as the grain ripens. 



54 



bad neglected to work the soil into a firm seed bed, the 
resnlt of which neglect cost a third of the prospective crop 
yield. The soil was altogether too loose, allowing the mois- 
ture to escape. In fields adjoining, the wheat had prac- 
tically recovered following the hailstorm, but his steadily 
failed. The adjustment was concluded on a basis of 7 per 
cent damage by hail. 

A carelessly i)repared seed bed will not hold moisture, 
and, even under normal conditions, will not retain a suffi- 
cient quantity properly to mature a crop. If the unusual 
drain caused by hailed grain — which needs more than the 
ordinary amount of moisture to aid it in recuperating — is 
added, the deficiencies become immediately apparent. 

A proper seed bed is one which is firmly compacted, as 
water and air must penetrate slowly to nourish the root 
system properly. To make a uniform growth, the seed must 
be drilled in at an even depth. Unless the field has been 
carefully and solidly worked down, all clods broken up and 
air pockets and loose ashy areas eliminated, the com])ress 
drills now in use will inevitably force in some of the seeds 
much deeper than they should be for proper germination. 

A loose, rough surface is an indication of air pockets 
below. A seed bed so prepared cannot properly germinate 
all seed, develop a sturdy root system, stool its plants, or 
sufficiently nourish them at any stage of their growth. 

The careful selection and proper treatment of seed 
wheat have an important bearing on final results, for each 
particular variety of wheat has its own susceptibility to dis- 
ease and its own peculiar period of ripening, each of which 
features may have a very definite and peculiar influence on 
the crop in a particular neighborhood. If farmers hope to 
escape the destructive influence of wheat diseases, it is 
necessary for most of them in a given neighborhood to agree 
to grow a single variety in order to get uniformity of growth 
with reference to maturity. When several varieties are 
grown in the same community, some are sure to be destruc- 

65 



lively attackcHl by disease, and from siicli attacks ^reat 
injiii'ies eome to siirroiiiiding- fields, whieli ordinarily would 
not be so atfected. For example, a variety which rnsts 
badly and matures early is likely to be most destructive to 
surrounding- wheat which matures later, even though the 
later \-ariety may be of a type much more resistant to rust. 
Winter-wheat growing is antagonistic to spring- wheat pro- 
duction in the same region. 

Wheat does not "run out," as is often asserted. It is 
generally the farmer who runs out by failure to clean and 
disinfect his wheat properly, to keep up the fertility and 
purity of his soil, and to prepare the seed bed properly. 



56 



The careless farmer sows his wheat fields with 
a mixture of this sort. 




But the careful farmer removes 




Tlic chaff. 



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The extraneous grains. 




The Dirt. 




And the small grains of wheat. 




Sowing only the large uniform berries. 
This is Seed Selection. 
57 



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INDEX 

A Basis on Which Claims Are Frequently Made (Illustration) 54 

Army Worm and Wheat-Head Army Worm, The 24 

Army Worm with Pupae, Moth and Eggs, The 25 

Careless Farming — Practices That Increase Wheat Sickness 40 

Chinch Bug 15 

Chinch Bug, The, (Illustration) 17 

Contrasts (Illustration) 33 

Contributing Causes 48 

Crinkle Joint or Break-Over Disease (Illustration) 36 

Crinkle Joint (Illustration) 36, 37, 38 

Cut Worms 30 

Damage by the Hessian Fly (Illustration) 12 

Disease Enemies 31 

Diseases 31 

Effect of Black Eust on Wheat 41 

Effects of Eust on Wheat (Illustration)... 45 

Enemy Insects l-- 

Flea Beetle, The, (Illustration)..... 27 

Flea Beetles 26 

Former Breeding Places of Insects (Illustration) If 

Frontispiece 2 

Grain Apis or Louse, The 28 

Granulated Cutworm 30 

Grasshopper, Jack Eabbit and Gopher Loss 48 

Green Bug, The 29 

Hessian Fly, The 13 

Illustration's Showing Methods of Cleaning Wheat for Seed Selection.... 57 

Infected Wheat Stalk (Illustration) 34 

Introductory ' 

Kinked Heads (Illustrated ) 50-51 

Larva of Wheat-Straw Worm (Illustration) 22 

Life of the Hessian Fly, The, (Illustration) 14 

Loose Smut i : 46 47 

Macaroni Wheat Heads, Marcus Wheat Heads (Illustration) 52 

Eust Breeds on the Barberry Bush (Illustration) 44 

Eust Euined Grain (Illustration) 43 

Eusts 41 

Seed Selection and Seed-Bed Preparation..... S'S 

"Shatter Loss" 52 

Small Stalk Borer, The 18 

Smuts of Wheat... 45 

Some Ways of Identifying the Green Bug 29 

Stem Eust (Illustration) 42 

Stinking Smut 45-46 

Summary of Losses to Wheat 58-59 

West of Todav, The. (Illustration) ^ 

West of Yesterday, The, (Illustration) f 

Wheat and the Hessian Fly (Illustration) 13 

Wheat-Bulb Worms or Wheat Stem Maggot 20 

Wheat-Bulb Worm (Illustration) 21 

Wheat Damage (Illustration) - 48 

Wheat Field Destroyed bv Grasshoppers (Illustration) 49 

Wheat Louse, The ' .. ' 28 

Wheat Midge, The 24 

Wheat Sickness ^^ 

AVheat Sick Soil (Illustration) ^ -^2 

Wheat-Straw Worm or Joint Worm - "^ 

Wheat Straws Injured by Straw Worm (Illustration) 23 

Winter Quarters of the Chinch Bug (Illustration) 16 



61 



Education is that training 

which fits for the duties 

of Hfe. 



LIBRfiRY OF CONGRESS 

~~ iilliiii II I mil iiii iiiiiiiiiiiiiii 



002 816 074 4 



